This team brings the Blazers to you

It's game time against the Philadelphia 76ers, and with a packed and pulsating Rose Garden nearing a fever pitch for a Blazers' tipoff, the a team you have never heard of takes its positions.

They are the team that brings The Team to the couches and bar stools of Oregon and beyond, and much like Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and the rest of the Blazers, they are among the biggest success stories in the NBA.

With the second-highest TV ratings in the NBA, behind only LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Blazers Broadcasting is under pressure to produce during its broadcasts, which include 76 of the team's 82 games.

And much like the Blazers in the game against the 76ers, the broadcasting team will be faced with intense, split-second decisions that will determine success or failure. It's part of the building tension in the truck as tipoff nears: Will Blazers Broadcasting be on its game? Or will the inevitable turnovers sneak into the broadcast?

A large portion of that responsibility rests on director Chris McMurtry, who informs the production truck that 90 seconds remain before the show begins.

They are tucked away in a semitrailer, which is parked next to the cars of the Blazers players in the arena's loading dock area. From the outside, the trailer looks like any big rig barreling down Interstate 5. But inside, there are so many monitors, blinking lights, and control panels that the cramped, yet cozy studio appears to be part-disco, part-airplane cockpit.

As director, McMurtry in the truck will be the equivalent of Blazers coach Nate McMillan on the court -- barking instructions and making adjustments on the fly. In his 18th year with the Blazers, McMurtry settles into his front-and-center chair with confidence as he surveys the shots provided by 10 cameras. Camera 8 shows owner Paul Allen in his courtside seat, which pleases McMurtry.

"Paul's in the house," McMurtry says. "Good, Camera 8, thank you."

To his right is Scott Zachry, the executive producer. If McMurtry is McMillan, Zachry is like general manager Kevin Pritchard. He oversees the production and deals directly with the talent, speaking with play-by-play announcer Mike Barrett during the broadcast. Ultimately, he is the boss.

"I provide us the road map, and Chris gets us there," Zachry says.

Zachry has been with the team for 20 years, and he is especially close with Barrett. On the road, the two are practically connected at the hip as they dine, watch movies and talk about the show daily. That has translated into a seamless flow of information during the broadcast, as Zachry points out subtleties that Barrett might overlook as he calls the action. Often, what fans hear out of Barrett's mouth was just uttered by Zachry in the truck.

"We have a rhythm," Zachry said. "And Mike has a terrific talent in being able to talk about the game and listen to me at the same time."

Tension in the air
For all the chemistry, and all the experience in the truck, there is a palpable tension as air time nears. Like a Mission Control liftoff, McMurtry and Zachry count down the seconds until broadcast.

"10-9-8-7-6 ..."

"Let's have some fun," Zachry adds, before joining McMurtry at 3-2-1 ...

"Roll B!" McMurtry barks.

B-roll is highlight film, and the monitors show footage of Steve Blake and Roy excelling in the team's previous game at Milwaukee while Barrett sets the stage for the night's game.

By now, the players inside the truck have taken their spots and have their game faces on.

To the left of McMurtry is John Burns, the technical director. He sits in front of the "switcher," a control panel that features flashing orange, yellow, white and green buttons. He will say maybe four words the entire night as he intently listens and executes the direction of McMurtry.

Bruce Ely/The OregonianBlazers Broadcasting crew Chris McMurtry, left, and Scott Zachry at work in the trailer that is parked in the loading dock of the Rose Garden.

McMurtry, on the other hand, is a constant blur of instructions and hand motions. He surveys the 10 camera angles and chooses which shots air. As the teams walk onto the court for the opening tip, McMurtry starts painting his picture for viewers at home.

Camera 2 has Roy blowing on his hands, and McMurtry instructs Burns to flip to that picture. Camera 1 has Joel Przybilla walking toward center court, and McMurtry gives a quick shot of the Blazers center. Camera 4 has Steve Blake and Aldridge hopping, and he cuts to that shot.

Behind McMurtry is Kim Anderson, who handles graphics, and John McConnell, who operates the scorebox that is stripped across the bottom of the screen.
Ready with statistics
Throughout the broadcast, Anderson monitors the game's statistics and has them at the ready for use, often times suggesting that points-in-the-paint or field-goal shooting in the quarter are ready. It is up to Zachry whether they are included in the show. As Philadelphia again scores easily inside, much to the dismay of Zachry and McMurtry, Anderson provides a relevant points-in-the-paint statistic.

It's the first of many flawless and timely additions from Anderson.

But trouble and pressure are on the horizon.

Near the end of the first quarter, McMurtry wants to go to a replay of a finger-roll layin by Blake. But when Burns presses the correct buttons, there is no replay of Blake, just a blurred, cockeyed close-up of the court.

Luckily, McMurtry's microphone doesn't go on the air.

Burns quickly goes back to Camera 1, the live, straight-on shot of the court.

"All right, it happens," Zachry says, trying to ease the tension. "That's live TV for you."

As it turns out, it was a miscommunication of where the highlight was cued. But nobody dwells on it. There is too much going on. Plus, the tilted, out-of-focus shot was aired for less than two seconds. Hopefully, nobody noticed.

Zachry quickly makes everyone forget the miscue.

Replays for the ref
Less than three minutes later, Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala makes a three-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer. Immediately, Zachry calls back to his replay crew.

"They are going to want to see it! They are going to want to see it!" Zachry informs. "Let's get it up."

Sure enough, as per NBA protocol, lead referee Steve Javie heads to a courtside monitor to watch a video replay of the shot to make sure Iguodala beat the clock. Javie puts on a headset, which is connected to Zachry.

Javie wants to not only see if Iguodala beat the clock, but whether his foot was behind the three-point line. Before Javie is done with his request, the truck is all over it, giving him zoomed shots of both the feet and a wide angle showing the shot clock. The process takes less than 20 seconds.

"Great, got it guys," Javie says. "Good job."

Javie signals a three-pointer out on the court, where nobody knows that Zachry and his crew just exhibited flawless execution.

There is another mishap -- what is supposed to be a highlight package of Blake's big third quarter instead turns into a hodgepodge of Blazers' highlights -- but for all intents and purposes the show is moving smoothly. Of course, it helps that the Blazers have trimmed a 16-point deficit to two.

When Greg Oden dunks with 30.9 seconds left to put Portland up 98-96, Zachry jumps so high he hits the ceiling of the truck. But he quickly regains his composure, informing his crew that they will not cut to a commercial during Philadelphia's timeout.

By the end of the game, an overtime loss, the truck is deflated.

"We are better when the team is better," McMurtry says. "We feed off the flow. In the first half, I felt we were slow and choppy. But in the second half our energy was better. But that's one of our challenges, to make it exciting even if the game is flat."